10 Greatest WWE SmackDown Endings
5. Heartbreak For The Rock - 26 August 1999
When WWF SmackDown made its debut just days after SummerSlam 1999, Triple H was pretty full of himself after defeating Mankind for the WWF Championship on Raw that same week. That mood was soon soured courtesy of The Rock, who came out to challenge the new champ to a title bout that night. WWF Commissioner, Shawn Michaels, liked what he heard and a WWF Championship match was made - with HBK as Special Referee.
Coincidentally, this would be the second time that very week that the WWF Title match had been presided over by a special referee, after Jesse 'The Body' Ventura had served as the authority at SummerSlam. Meanwhile, Michaels himself had a checkered history in the striped shirt, having played huge part in Bret Hart defeating The Undertaker at SummerSlam '97 two years earlier.
This night would prove to be no different and Shawn Michaels would once again court controversy in the main event. With the WWF Championship on the line, Rock and Triple H went at it for just under ten minutes before HBK shocked the world.
Delivering Sweet Chin Music to The Rock, Michaels gave the assist to his fellow degenerate and allowed Triple H to hit the Pedigree for the three. 'The Game' retained and SmackDown's debut episode went off the air with the original three members of DX celebrating victory.